America's Cup: Coca-Cola joins the 37th America's Cup
by America's Cup Media 6 Oct 2023 13:42 UTC
7 October 2023
Grant Dalton, CEO of the 37th America's Cup, and Francesc Cosano, General Manager of Coca-Cola Europacific Partners Iberia © Emirates Team NZ
On Friday morning, Coca-Cola Europacific Partners signed an agreement at its Martorelles (Barcelona) plant, through which the company becomes a sponsor of the 37th America's Cup – the world's oldest and most important nautical event to be held in Barcelona in 2024. This alliance makes Coca-Cola the Global Soft Drinks Partner of the 37th edition of the America's Cup.
Coca-Cola has always been present in the most important sporting events in the world, in different disciplines. Beyond sports sponsorship, the company now partners with this competition to develop initiatives within the framework of its sustainability strategy. In this sense, during the regatta months, Coca-Cola will promote the use of returnable glass as a more sustainable and reusable container. In addition, it will also promote beach cleaning actions through its ‘Mares Circulares’ program, which began in 2018 and has already managed to recover more than 1,800 tons of waste in Spain.
The agreement also consolidates and reaffirms Coca-Cola’s relationship with Barcelona, a key city for the group at an international level, which has one of the largest production plants in Europe (located in Martorelles) and which saw the birth of the first Coca-Cola bottle in Spain in 1953, from the factory located on Almogàvers Street.
The signing of the agreement brought together Grant Dalton, CEO of the 37th America's Cup, and Francesc Cosano, General Manager of Coca-Cola Europacific Partners Iberia. When signing the agreement, both executives highlighted the economic and social impact that the competition will have on the city, the region, and the country, with the involvement of citizens and local entities, and the importance of sustainability in the management of an event of this magnitude.
Francesc Cosano, General Manager of Coca-Cola Europacific Partners Iberia, highlighted the importance of partnering with the world's most important nautical competition and pointed out that "this agreement allows us to reinforce our commitment with Barcelona, supporting the local economy and making a positive impact on the Catalan society".
For his part, Grant Dalton, CEO of 37th America’s Cup, said, “We are especially proud to have such an iconic international brand joining the 37th America’s Cup in such an iconic city, but driven so emphatically at a local level by an organization like Coca-Cola here in Barcelona."
"Like AC37, it is clearly very important for them to leave a positive legacy of the event economically and in terms of sustainability, so it is great to have them onboard working with us towards such a positive ambition for the 37th America’s Cup and Barcelona."